Monthly Archives: October 2015

News of actress Judi Dench’s death spread quickly earlier this week causing concern among fans across the world. However the October 2015 report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax and just the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports. Thankfully, the actress best known for her roles in Skyfall, Shakespeare in Love or GoldenEye is alive and well.

Judi Dench death hoax spreads on Facebook

Rumors of the actress’s alleged demise gained traction on Monday after a ‘R.I.P. Judi Dench’ Facebook page attracted nearly one million of ‘likes’. Those who read the ‘About’ page were given a believable account of the British actress’s passing:

“At about 11 a.m. ET on Monday (October 12, 2015), our beloved actress Judi Dench passed away. Judi Dench was born on December 9, 1934 in York. She will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”

Hundreds of fans immediately started writing their messages of condolence on the Facebook page, expressing their sadness that the talented 80-year-old actress was dead. And as usual, Twittersphere was frenzied over the death hoax.

Where as some trusting fans believed the post, others were immediately skeptical of the report, perhaps learning their lesson from the huge amount of fake death reports emerging about celebrities over recent months. Some pointed out that the news had not been carried on any major British network, indicating that it was a fake report, as the death of an actress of Judi Dench’s stature would be major news across networks.

A recent poll conducted for the Celebrity Post shows that a large majority (77%) of respondents think those Judi Dench death rumors are not funny anymore.

Judi Dench Death Hoax Dismissed Since Actress Is ‘Alive And Well’

On Tuesday (October 13) the actress’ reps officially confirmed that Judi Dench is not dead. “She joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. She’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet,” they said.

Some fans have expressed anger at the fake report saying it was reckless, distressing and hurtful to fans of the much loved actress. Others say this shows her extreme popularity across the globe.

Paramount has moved “Star Trek: Beyond” back two weeks to July 22.

The studio had originally announced a July 8 release date late last year. It will face Warner Bros.’ “King Arthur” and Fox’s animated “Ice Age: Collision Course” on July 22.

The film will mark the 50-year anniversary of the television launch of the landmark science-fiction series. The TV series debuted on Sept. 8, 1966, on NBC and aired for three seasons.

Justin Lin is directing the third instalment in Paramount’s rebooted “Star Trek” franchise with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto in the lead roles. J.J. Abrams directed the first two “Star Trek” reboots in 2009 and 2013.

David Ellison’s Skydance Prods. and Abrams’ Bad Robot are producing. Orci and Abrams are the producers.

Lin directed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth instalments of the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” grossed $467 million worldwide, including $229 million domestically.

Disney has announced the release dates for 19 movies through the year 2020, including the summer 2017 opening of Pixar’s “Cars 3” and the 2019 bow of “The Incredibles 2.”

Disney has also moved “Toy Story 4” back by a year, from June 16, 2017, to June 15, 2018.

The 19 dates included six Marvel titles — an “Ant-Man” sequel, “Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel” and three untitled films as part of its plans for Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” will hit theaters on July 6, 2018, while the three untitled Marvel Studios films will bow on May 1, 2020, July 10, 2020, and Nov. 6, 2020.

Disney and Marvel have also opted to move “Black Panther” forward five months from July 6, 2018, to Feb. 16, 2018. The character will be portrayed by Chadwick Boseman and will debut in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.”

“Captain Marvel” has been moved forward eight months from Nov. 2, 2018, to March 8, 2018.

Disney also announced Thursday that it has crossed the $4 billion mark at the global box office, beating its previous studio record by six weeks. As of Oct. 7, the studio has hauled $1.4 billion in the U.S. and Canada and $2.6 billion internationally.

Marvel has announced an “Ant Man” sequel and three untitled films as part of its plans for Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The second installment, “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” will hit theaters on July 6, 2018, the studio revealed on Thursday. The sequel marks the first Marvel movie named after a heroine (played by Evangeline Lilly).

Paul Rudd’s minuscule hero will be seen next in 2015’s “Captain America: Civil War.”

Meanwhile, the three untitled Marvel Studios films are slated for May 1, 2020, July 10, 2020, and Nov. 6, 2020.

“Ant-Man’s” second adventure will shift “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel’s” release dates. “Black Panther” is moving up to Feb. 16, 2018, while “Captain Marvel” will now bow on March 8, 2019.

“Ant-Man,” directed by Peyton Reed, has hauled $178.5 million in the U.S. (the ninth highest-grosser domestically) and $409.8 million worldwide. The pic opens in China — its final international market — on Oct. 16.

As you know, Walt Disney and Marvel went a little nuts yesterday, tossing a surprise Ant-Man sequel into the Phase 3 lineup, mixing around the Captain Marvel and Black Panther release dates, and offering three more “untitled” films for 2020 which will presumably be the first three films of “Phase 4.” What could those Phase 4 movies be? Well, that’s for a little further below.

First of all, I understand the frustration of those annoyed that Captain Marvel has been pushed back yet again. Back in October of 2014, Marvel made their big Phase 3 announcement; they made a big deal out of Captain Marvel being their first female-centric superhero film. And since that October 29th announcement, it has been shifted back twice. The initial release date was July 6, 2018. Then, in February, Marvel and Sony made a deal that would allow Spider-Man to both join the MCU and get a solo film that would take place within the Marvel universe. Said film rearranged the entire Phase 3 schedule, and Black Panther got moved to the July 6, 2018 slot and Captain Marvel ended up on November 2, 2018.

And now today, Marvel is shifting Captain Marvel a third time. With Marvel and the Ant-Man moving into the Black Panther July 6 slot, the Chadwick Boseman adventure got moved to February 16, 2018 (on the very lucrative Presidents Day weekend and right in the middle of Black History month, for what that’s worth). Captain Marvel, which to be fair, has no script, no director, and no star, got moved to March 8, 2019. While that is technically “International Women’s Day,” it’s also a less safe release slot and represents the second time that the female-led superhero film has been pushed back on account of a male-driven entry.

Yes, hopefully Ant-Man and the Wasp will be a two-hander of sorts, but the fact remains that going from a female-led film to a “the lady gets second billing in the title” sequel to a male-centric original isn’t all that comforting. Although at least Captain Marvel will be safe if Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. goes and slots The Batman on November 2nd as was rumored awhile back. And it’s a little disconcerting, if understandable in terms of production schedules and what is or isn’t already planned out, that the female-centric film and the black-centric film keep getting their release dates tossed around on account of whatever new film magically joins Phase 3 at the last minute. But, c’est la vie.

Here’s what I’d like to talk about for the moment. Those three Untitled Marvel movies, which I presume are not Cameron Crowe’s entry into the Marvel Universe (“starring Billy Crudup as the Golden God!”) are of course either the first three movies of Phase 4 or, depending on howInhumans fits into this, the second, third, and fourth entries into Phase4. Ah yes, Phase4, which will be Marvel’s awkward transitional season where the characters all adjust to college life and the writers struggle to find convincing reasons to keep the core ensemble together (Loki is like totally a good guy now, and half the action takes place away from Avengers HQ and instead at Bruce’s new school where he struggles to fit in). For now, we are all, of course, speculating about what those films might be. But here’s a modest proposal to anyone at Disney or Marvel who cares: Don’t tell us.

Don’t leak it (if it can be helped), don’t announce it, don’t tease it in any of the upcoming Phase 3 credit cookies. Don’t give us any idea of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe will look like until afterAvengers: Infinity War is as close to being released as possible. Obviously this is somewhat fantastical. Unless Marvel is able to utterly keep a lid on negotiations and gossip, some of this stuff will get out. And since the first “unknown” Phase 4 films will start dropping a year after Avengers: Infinity War part II, Marvel will have to basically keep a lid on everything until a year out. So what’s the benefit of that, you ask?

Well, for one thing, it will make Marvel’s SDCC presentation in 2019 (or their 2019 D23 Panel, pick your poison) the biggest most crowd-pleasing presentation in recent memory, as they will basically be laying bare what comes after “the end of the current story” after said story has ended. And of course, from a consumer point-of-view, it will allow Marvel and Disney to keep a genuine sense of mystery about how the “end of the end” will play out. If we already know what movies will make up Phase 4, then it will be that much easier to surmise what does or does not happen in the two-part finale. And since the general audiences who make up the vast majority of the box office riches for these films don’t necessarily care about the years-in-advance publicity, it won’t hurt in the least in terms of getting general moviegoers excited when the time comes.

Body language and emotions – If you are autistic like me you might find this movie hard to get the emotions as this movie deals with themes of isolation, loneliness, survival, mental well-being, putting the lives of others first, keeping cheerful in the face of adversity, and looking for the greater good.

So long, our views of space and what the cosmos held were what we knew from Star Wars and Star Trek. Today, we have on-planet pictures of Mars and finely detailed photos from a fly-by of Pluto. With so much current data regarding space from the technologies available to us, it was only a matter of time before a detailed, very plausible film emerged regarding life in space. Recent films such as Interstellar and Sunshine have touched on the subject. Now, director Ridley Scott brings us one of the great films of 2015 to look at human life on Mars in The Martian.

A group of astronauts are taking part in NASA’s Ares III mission where they are living and doing research on the red planet: Mars. When an unexpected storm threatens the team of astronauts, Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) makes the decision to leave the planet. However, in the chaos of the storm, astronaut/botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is blown away and apparently killed, with the others boarding the ship and leaving. What they don’t know is that Watney is alive, and being the scientist and fighter he is, decides to fight to live, using science to survive on a planet not made for human life. Another mission will be there in over a year, so he must “science the $%^&” out of it and find a way to survive until then. But on a planet where food does not grow, and without communication capabilities, will the botanist be able to find a way to overcome all odds and live to tell the story?

The Martian is science fiction – with a large dose of reality – that is not dumbed down but, instead, made easy to understand and enjoyable to digest. Much of the understanding comes from Damon’s character, basically making video blogs of his days and explaining what he’s doing so that anyone can understand. If there was extensive science talk and themes we just weren’t quite grasping, we’d be referring to Interstellar. This varies in that it is much more audience friendly and, in turn, enjoyable. Ridley Scott has found a way to balance the science with the humanity of a person being left behind and still finds the humor in the situation, mainly through the dialogue of Damon’s character. Credit must be given to Dariusz Wolski for his job on the cinematography, bringing Mars to life and putting us front and center of a planet we only see pictures of from rovers. Nothing feels out of place and you actually feel you’re there on the red planet based on everything you’ve seen from media past and present.

For about the first half of the film, you may have déjà vu of an older film, Cast Away, as Damon’s character is all alone. But instead of talking to a volleyball named Wilson, he talks to a camera, to our humorous delight. Damon is front and center in this film and, while it is an ensemble cast in many ways, Damon more or less carries the load for half of the film. We are there with him daily through his highs and lows, from him naming himself the “smartest man on the planet” to the pain of losing valuable resources and, possibly, his life. At no point does his performance come off as unbelievable, which keeps us entrenched on Mars with him as he fights to survive. Kristen Wiig has plenty of good, small moments, and Sean Bean is great as the NASA guy in charge of the crew’s welfare. Plus, he has a great little Lord of the Rings joke that will give you a nice chuckle. Chewitel Ejiofor has a strong performance as the mission leader and the rest of the cast including Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, and Mackenzie Davis, all have their moments to shine. A strong cast with strong performances, given a great script, all yields great success for a finished product.

The Martian is one of the best films you’ll see this year. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be on edge and you’ll exhale with relief. You’ll buy into everything each actor is selling and you’ll be full engrossed with the story and the plot as it unfolds. You’ll learn about humanity, the limits the human body can take, and all the things we can accomplish when we put our mind to something and fight with the thought that there is no giving up. The absolute best thing about the film is how inspiring it really is. So even if you’re burnt out on space movies, please take this trip to Mars, as it will be well worth the journey.

My Verdit

‘The Martian’ is a fun, beautiful, practical movie which never outstays its welcome. The supporting characters have enough personality to make them engaging so that when the plot is not with Watney it can still be just as entertaining, and Damon leads the film with confidence. However with the constant bad language and themes of isolation and survival, this is not a movie made for children and thus how much a child will enjoy it, or it be appropriate for them to watch, will depend on their attitude towards such a set up and parents feelings on swearing. We therefore feel that ‘The Martian’ would be appropriate for children aged 12 and over only.

Violence: 0/5

Emotional Distress: 2/5 (whilst Watney is mostly positive in the face of adversity there are some short scenes of him sobbing due to the stress. Other characters miss their families but have fun talking to each other over video link)